A/N: Thanks to CPT Ratchet for the PR!
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“You little rascal! Can’t believe you dumped all of that onto me!”
Byrael currently had his son Azrael in a headlock while they were heading back home. Making sure he wasn’t squeezing tightly, he was moving his knuckles rapidly over the top of Azrael’s head. After making one final futile attempt at resistance, Azrael finally yielded and taps his father’s shoulders, signaling that he gave up.
“Heh, it’s not like we hadn’t decided on the school beforehand.”
“Yeah, it was a no brainer to choose Sinara Academy after all but then why did you push it onto me!”
SInara Academy. Located near the capital city of Leah in the Nifl Kingdom, it was the most renowned Magic Academy within the continent. Even though the academy only graduated on average fifty people every year, the students that came out were all exceptional talents and fiercely recruited by all the kingdoms.
“I thought it would be a shame if only I received all that attention”
“Wh…Why you!! Come back here!”
Azrael immediately began sprinting. Being dumbfounded by Azrael’s answer, Byrael stood where he was for a short moment before noticing the sarcasm. Seeing his son running while laughing, a smile naturally rose on his face as he chased after him.
As the sun was finally setting, the two finished climbing the last hill that separated them from their home. Seeing the sun set behind their house, the two of them stayed in place for a few moments to appreciate the beautiful scene. At that moment, lights appeared from the house’s window. Snapping back into reality, the two head toward the door and enter.
“Mom! We’re home!”
“Oh Azrael! You two came at the perfect time, I’m almost done with cooking dinner. Go upstairs and clean up. We’ll eat when you two are done.”
After giving his mom a hug, Azrael walks up the stairs to clean up a little before dinner. When he finished climbing up the final stairs, the door to the twin’s room opens quickly and two figures run towards him.
“”Brother!””
Seeing the two small figures charging at him, a warm smile appears on his face while bracing himself as they jumped into him. Hugging him at the waist, both of them gleam up at him.
“Welcome back brother!”
“Did you buy us yummy things brother?”
“Haha oi oi Aurora, Azer! I got to go clean up so you two head down stairs, okay?”
“Okay brother, see you soon!”
Nodding their heads, the two let go of Azrael’s legs and head down to eat dinner. While chuckling, Azrael heads to the bathroom and quickly washes himself before heading downstairs.
When he reaches the bottom of the stairs, a mesmerizing aroma of spices and cooked meat begin to enter his nose. Looking at the table, a large dish of sizzling deer meat is placed in the middle of the table. In front of each chair, a bowl of soup and salad was prepared. Seeing the delicious meal, Azrael’s stomach begins to growl in demand of the food which he readily complies with by rushing over to his seat.
Once the whole family was seated down, the children began devouring the delicious meal right away. Seeing her children eating the food she cooked with such vigor, a smile appeared on Azela’s face. What kind of mother wouldn’t be happy seeing her family eat the food she cooked with such passion? Once everyone had finished their meals, Azela finally brought up the topic she had been wondering about.
“So how did your test go Azrael?”
“Of course I got admitted to Sinara Academy!”
Saying this with a calm face, Azrael brought his arms forward and gave his mom a V sign. Seeing the ridiculous pose, Azela couldn’t help but chuckle and shake her head at the dumb question. Even though she knew that her son had the talent of a genius with his three elements, she still couldn’t help but worry that he might fail and be depressed about it. It seems her worries, however, were for naught.
“Haa… Even though you’re such a smart and kind person, I still feel ill at ease knowing you’re going to be living so far away….”
Seeing his mom look at him with such a worried expression, Azrael couldn’t help but feel moved by her love.
“It’s not like you’ll never see me again mom. I’ll be able to come back home every six months so just wait to hear about how amazing your son is when he returns!”
Saying that, Azrael immediately goes into a gut pose. Seeing her son acting silly, Azela couldn’t help but chuckle and nod her head in agreement. Byrael, who had been watching the interaction, puts his arms around his wife to give her comfort.
After helping his mother clean up after the meal, Azrael went up to his room and plopped down on his bed. Just like his mother, he felt sad at the thought that he would have to spend such long spans of time away from his family.
Back in his old world, demons didn’t put much emphasis on family and relied more on individuality. All demons learned to become self-reliant from a young age. Even though his family was better than most, they still did not interfere with his life much, just providing the bare minimum.
Having come to this world though, he finally learned what it felt like to have a caring family. Being engrossed in such an environment, he had come to cherish the deep feelings of love he had for his parents and his siblings.
Even though he felt like this, he was also very excited for what laid in the future. When he arrives at Sirana Academy, he will be able to learn and practice as much as he wants. He knew all too well that as of right now, his strength was nowhere near enough to protect his loved ones.
“I need to graduate as one of the top students from Sirana Academy. Even though we’re well off for now, I want my parents and siblings to live with comfort and grandeur. To reach that goal, I need to train even harder!’
Making this vow in the depths of his heart, Azrael immediately lifts his upper body and begins to train. It wouldn’t be until the sun began to rise that he stopped purifying his mana and went for a run.
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For the next eleven and a half months, Azrael focused on improving his cardiovascular system and spending time with his family. During this time, he began to notice that the way the villagers were treating him had also changed.
One day, not being able to hold his curiosity anymore, he asked his dad about it. When Byrael heard his son’s question, he couldn’t help but laugh.
“Hahaha of course it’s because you got accepted to the “Sirana Magic Academy”! You’re the first person ever from this village to have gotten into the academy. You have become the pride of the village”
‘Ah…. No wonder all the older folks seemed to smile more at me. I been starting to get free stuff from the other villagers also….’
Also during this time, the twins had also begun taking their training more seriously. Aurora and Azer had always looked up to their older brother. Not only was he a genius, but he always took time away to play and take care of them. When they heard that their brother was going to be leaving not too long from now, they were filled with disbelief.
What do you mean that their brother was going away? The older brother that they looked up to and loved so much was leaving? This news was very shocking to them. When they first heard about this, they ran over to Azrael to confirm it.
“Brother, are you really leaving?!”
“Brother you can’t leave us!”
Seeing the two anxious faces, Azrael could only inwardly sigh. He knew that he would have to tell them eventually, but here were his two siblings demanding an answer and for him to stay.
“Aurora, Azer. I’ll be going to school in about eleven months. It’s far away so I can’t come visit often, but I’ll come back home to see you two twice a year okay?”
“WAAAAH BROTHER HATES US!!”
“BROTHER’S LEAVING BECAUSE HE HATES AURORA AND I!”
Saying that, the two twins ran off to their room. Seeing the two, Azrael couldn’t help but release a sigh. The reason he hadn’t told them why beforehand was because he knew the two would act like this. Even after the two had turned the corner and disappeared a while back, he continued to stare in their direction for a little moment before going back to his training.
Aurora and Azer, on the other hand, were silently crying in their room.
“Doe….does brother really hate us?”
“Aurora! Brother would never hate us!”
Hearing Azer reassuring comment, Aurora slowly began nodding her head. Even though she had said that just now, she also understood how much her older brother loved and cherished her and Azer. Unless it was for something very important, he would never leave them.
“So…how can we go to brother?”
“We have to train very hard Aurora! I will become the strongest warrior and you become the strongest mage, okay? That way, we can see older brother!”
At Azer’s words, Aurora quickly nods her hand. Even though they would be apart from now, all the two of them had to do was pass the examination and go to where he was!
Agreeing to this, the both of them also began training themselves very strictly. Even though he wasn’t give a wooden sword yet, he made smaller versions of a sword with a branch and began to imitate Azrael while he practiced. His swings started to become fluid and had a grace to them that was hard to find in others. Slowly, the amount of strength he had to exert with each swing lowered and it was beautiful to behold.
Aurora, on the other hand, focused on purifying her mana. At night, she also began to ask her older brother about her experiences so that she could get a better understanding. The dull grey aura from her mana was steadily solidifying into a more pure silver color.
Seeing the twin’s commitment, both the parents and Azrael were surprised. Even though the twins had always been carefree and loved playing around more than anything else, seeing them work so hard surprised them.
Every time they became tired, they would always think of how far their older brother was from them and would continue training. They had decided that they would become strong like their brother and attend the same school so they could still be together!
Like this, time flew by in an instance and it was time for Azrael to depart. In front of the home, he was currently saying his farewells to his mother and younger siblings.
“Alright you two, behave yourself while I’m gone, okay? Azer, while dad and I are goneyou are in charge of protecting our sister and mom okay?”
Hearing his words, Azer simply nods his head and throws himself onto his leg. Aurora, not one to lose out, also grabbed his other leg. Seeing his two siblings clinging onto him and trying to cry warmed up his chest. After a while, he turns his head and looks at his mother.
“Mom, I’ll be back before you know so don’t worry okay? I’ll be waiting for my favorite meals when I come back~ Also, don’t worry about dad on this trip, I’ll make sure he doesn’t do anything naughty”
“*cough* *cough*…oi just how do you think of your old pop?!”
Seeing the interaction between the two, Azela couldn’t help but laugh and cave in, rushing to her oldest son and embracing him in a hug.
“Make sure to not overexert yourself okay? Eat a lot of food and you’re not allowed to marry anyone without mom’s permission okay?”
“Eh?”
Hearing his mom’s unexpected words, Azrael stiffens in surprise. Seeing this, Azela couldn’t help but chuckle and hug him even tighter. After about five minutes they finally release each other from the hug. Not even looking back, he marches ahead forward.
Byrael, seeing this, couldn’t help but grin. His son really was too shy, trying to hide it from everyone by hurrying up and moving out. He soon ran forward and caught up to his son who had deliberately gone slowly to let his father catch up.
With his mother and two siblings waving and saying good bye behind them, the two finally set off on their one week travel to Sirana Magic Academy.